/ ˈhaɪəsɪnθ; NAmE / noun
a plant with a mass of small blue, white or pink flowers with a sweet smell that grow closely together around a thick stem
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (denoting a gem): from French hyacinthe , via Latin from Greek huakinthos , denoting a plant identified with the flower in the myth of Hyacinthus, and a gem (perhaps the sapphire). In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was a boy who Apollo loved but killed accidentally. From his blood Apollo made the hyacinth spring up. The current sense dates from the late 16th cent.